* TORAH WEEKLY *
Highlights of the Weekly Torah Portion
Parshat Beha'alotcha
Outside Israel for the week ending June 24, 2000 / 21 Sivan 5760
In Israel for the week ending June 17, 2000 / 14 Sivan 5760
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OVERVIEW
Aharon is taught the method for kindling the menorah. Moshe
sanctifies the levi'im to work in the Mishkan. They replace the
firstborn, who were disqualified after sinning through the golden
calf. The levi'im are commanded that after five years of training
they are to serve in the Mishkan from ages 30 to 50; afterwards they
are to engage in less strenuous work. One year after the Exodus from
Egypt, Hashem commands Moshe concerning the korban Pesach. Those
ineligible for this offering request a remedy, and the mitzvah of
Pesach Sheini, allowing a "second chance" to offer the korban Pesach
one month later, is detailed. Miraculous clouds that hover near the
Mishkan signal when to travel and when to camp. Two silver trumpets
summon the princes or the entire nation for announcements. The
trumpets also signal travel plans, war or festivals. The order in
which the tribes march is specified. Moshe invites his father-in-law,
Yitro, to join the Jewish People, but Yitro returns to Midian. At the
instigation of the eruv rav -- the mixed Egyptian multitude who joined
the Jewish People in the Exodus -- some people complain about the
manna. Moshe protests that he is unable to govern the nation alone.
Hashem tells him to select 70 elders, the first Sanhedrin, to assist
him, and informs him that the people will be given meat until they
will be sickened by it. Two candidates for the group of elders
prophesy beyond their mandate, foretelling that Yehoshua instead of
Moshe will bring the people to Canaan. Some protest, including
Yehoshua, but Moshe is pleased that others have become prophets.
Hashem sends an incessant supply of quail for those who complained
that they lacked meat. A plague punishes those who complained.
Miriam tries to make a constructive remark to Aharon which also
implies that Moshe is only like other prophets. Hashem explains that
Moshe's prophecy is superior to that of any other prophet, and
punishes Miriam with tzara'at as if she had gossiped about her
brother. (Because Miriam is so righteous, she is held to an incredibly
high standard). Moshe prays for her, and the nation waits until she
is cured before traveling.
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INSIGHTS
STAYING LIT
"Aharon did so;" (8:3)
"This teaches the praise of Aharon -- that he did not change" (Sifri).
You pick up your new car from the dealer, and settle yourself behind
the ergonomic dash, the smell of "new car" wafting across your
nostrils, more delectable than any French perfume. The engine purrs
as you ease your way in to light traffic along the coast. "This car
is great!" you think to yourself, "It's the most exciting thing in the
world!"
Two months later, someone sees you and says, "Great new car!" You
reply, "Yeah, I guess so. Actually it's not so new anymore..."
If familiarity doesn't exactly breed contempt, at least it fosters
boredom and complacency. Yet at the end of his life, Aharon was still
lighting the menorah with exactly the same degree of constancy and
enthusiasm with which he lit it on his first day. "This teaches the
praise of Aharon -- that he did not change."
MAKE SPACE
"And the man Moshe was more humble than anyone on the face of the
earth." (12:3).
The thinner the walls of a container, the less they intrude into the
space inside the container, and thus the greater its capacity. Moshe
made himself like the skin of a garlic clove -- virtually without
substance -- the absolute minimum for him to still exist in this
world. Thus, he was almost completely a "containing space."
It is for this reason that he was able to receive and contain the
Torah in its perfection. In truth, if there were anyone today who
would reach his level of humility, that person too would receive the
Torah in all its completeness, like Moshe.
* Adapted from Ruach Chaim
CASHING IN
"And the man Moshe was more humble than anyone on the face of the
earth." (12:3)
Our Sages warn against haughtiness, more than any other character
defect. "Be very, very humble," they teach us. What makes
haughtiness and status-seeking so mortally dangerous?
A person cannot receive the true reward for a mitzvah in this world;
since a mitzvah is spiritual, it is impossible for its reward to be
given in a world which is physical. However, if a person derives
status and honor from doing a mitzvah, even though this honor is
illusory, he has nevertheless received a kind of recompense, since
status and honor are felt as "spiritual" entities. Thus, by deriving
a surrogate benefit from the counterfeit currency of honor in this
world, a person can arrive at the First National Bank of Olam Habah,
the World to Come, and find that he exchanged his priceless diamonds -
- the eternal reward for his mitzvot -- for Monopoly money.
* Based on the Chafetz Chaim
BLAZING THE TRAIL
"Speak to Aharon and say to him that when he makes the flame of the
menorah go up..." (8:2).
There are two ways to light a candle. One can touch a flame directly
to the wick, or one can hold the flame away from the wick until it
spontaneously bursts into flames because of the extreme heat.
There are two ways to teach Torah and pass the tradition down to the
next generation. We can force our children to study Torah and perform
mitzvot, or we can let them see our passion for mitzvot and Torah. We
can use every educational technique available to inspire them until
their own personal interest in Torah and mitzvot is ignited. To
symbolize this lesson Aharon is told specifically to light the menorah
in the latter manner because the menorah symbolizes the Oral Torah --
the personal transferal of Hashem's Word.
* Rabbi Yerucham Uziel Milevsky
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HAFTARA: Zacharia 2:14 - 4:17
Reflecting the opening theme of Parshat Beha'alotcha, the haftara
describes a vision of the menorah lit by the kohen gadol, the high
priest. The Prophet Zacharia assures the Jewish People that even
during the Messianic era when the entire world will recognize Hashem
and evil will be eliminated, the Jewish People will still play an
important role. There will be a need for Jewish leadership and
education, and the Jews will be a light for all nations. The menorah
symbolizes this role of spiritual illumination.
The Prophet conveys a message which those religions that are offshoots
of Judaism have too often ignored: "Not by military force, and not by
physical strength, but by My Spirit alone (4:6)..."
WITH A FLOURISH
"Behold, I am bringing my servant, the Flourishing One." (3:8)
Why is mashiach referred to as the "flourishing one?" Even though
today it seems that all remnant of the majesty of the Royal House of
David has been uprooted and has vanished into nothingness,
nevertheless, the root is still living, hidden and dormant. At the
appropriate moment, the mashiach will appear, like a majestic tree
flourishing from barren ground, laden with fruit, revealed to all.
* Malbim
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LOVE OF THE LAND
Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship
between the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael
HOSTING THE DIVINE PRESENCE
The most sacred part of the Beit Hamikdash was located in the portion
of Eretz Israel belonging to the Tribe of Binyamin (Mesechta Yoma
12a).
Why, ask our Sages (Mechilta Yitro 4:18), did Binyamin merit to be the
host of the Divine Presence? Because only he, of all the sons of
Yaakov, was born in Eretz Israel.
When his fellow Jews challenged Mordechai on his endangering their
security by refusing to bow to Haman, he responded that it was below
his dignity to bow to any mortal, even one as politically powerful as
Haman, because of the royal status he enjoyed as the descendant of
Binyamin who was born in Eretz Israel. (Midrash Rabbah Esther 7:8)
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Written and Compiled by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair
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Production Design: Michael Treblow
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